


Felines are excellent judges of character

by leatherandwolfsbane



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Not as angsty as it sounds, Sheith Week Unlimited 2017: Lions, post 2.01 Across the Universe, soft sheith, the black and red lions are awesome moms, they have the best bond, very minor spoiler for 2.01 only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 06:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9479771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leatherandwolfsbane/pseuds/leatherandwolfsbane
Summary: “Are you okay?” seems to have become their most frequently used phrase. It would be humorous actually if there wasn’t genuine cause for asking. If they weren’t injured all the damn time. If they stopped getting separated. If they stopped being quiet or angry or isolating themselves. Every conversation they have with each other now, “Are you okay?”“Are you okay?”“Are you okay?”-------------Shiro struggles with his position in Voltron after Keith can pilot the Black Lion.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. It's been ages since I wrote something here. Well...
> 
> Just a little thought for Sheith Week Unlimited: Day Two - Lions.

“Are you okay?” seems to have become their most frequently used phrase. It would be humorous actually if there wasn’t genuine cause for asking. If they weren’t injured all the damn time. If they stopped getting separated. If they stopped being quiet or angry or isolating themselves. Every conversation they have with each other now, “Are you okay?”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Are you okay?”

 

And they always respond to each other, but half the time it’s a vague runaround as opposed to an honest answer. They’ve both gotten very good at that. It’s not about hurting each other or a desire to lie. They’re just constantly trying to keep their pain from each other. They have enough on their minds as it is.

 

So when Keith asks Shiro if he’s okay after coming out of the pod, Shiro says yes. He’s healed after all, the awful gash is gone and thankfully no longer florescent purple, so things don’t look too bad. But they know each other better than that.

 

Keith spends the day with him - by his side, in the distance, a silent presence through the wall…with him even when he isn’t with him. He knows Shiro has more to say and he’ll wait for Shiro to say it. They know when not to push. 

 

Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. “Are you okay, are you okay, are you okay?” 

 

To his credit, Keith doesn’t have to say it once, it’s all in the eyes, the looks, the quirked brow, and bitten lips. They’ve always thrived at non-verbal conversation. So Keith receives the small smiles, the nods, the hands on the shoulder, and they drop the line of questioning.

 

After three hours on the training deck, seamlessly fighting side-by-side, Shiro decides it’s time to talk. He’s perched by the wall, helmet in hands, just breathing as he waits for Keith to come closer. It’s amusing to watch; they have no problem approaching each other or being in each other’s space, but every once in a while, Keith becomes overly cautious. Keith can be like a bird sometimes, looking, looking away, hopping a little closer, checking again, inching forward again. He does it now, eyes glancing over the top of his water bottle as he sidles over, and Shiro can’t help but grin. _No, not a bird_ , Shiro thinks. _A cat_. It breaks Keith’s routine, giving him permission, and he simply settles down next to Shiro, smirking.

 

“So. What’s wrong?”

 

_Oh_. That startles Shiro a little; he was so expecting three different words, they bore the same meaning, but the absence of their phrase throws him off. It only takes a moment for Shiro to realize why. “What’s wrong?” requires a direct answer, it’s not as easy to say “I’m fine.” _No brushing it off, now_. Not that Shiro intended to.

 

“It’s silly. Nothing really.” A glance from Keith tells him to try a little harder. “Not nothing. Not to me, but nothing in the grand scheme of things. I hope.”

 

Now Keith looks concerned. Shiro sighs and decides to stop stalling.

 

“I’ve struggled connecting to the Black Lion virtually the whole time we’ve known about Voltron. I was the only one who didn’t have to find their lion. I’m the one with a lion previously piloted by Zarkon. I’m the one who keeps getting drawn in by that connection.”

 

Despite what many people at the garrison thought, Keith can be patient, can read people quite well, and he makes no move to interrupt Shiro now. 

 

“I need to keep improving my bond with the Black Lion. I need to be stronger for this team, for Voltron, for Altea, for the universe. I have the weakest tie. I may be decent at leading, but I have the weakest bond.” 

 

Keith is biting his lip again, and looks like he wants to intercede now, but Shiro cuts him off.

 

“She had no problem with you.”

 

“Shiro-”

 

“She let you in. You had to prove your worth to Red and now the two of you are so close. You proved yourself to the Black Lion too, and she let you in the first time you really had an encounter with her. I don’t know if I’m worthy.”

 

“Stop. Stop, Shiro.” 

 

“You found Blue, too. Well, found. Felt.” He pauses, redirects what he means to say. “I don’t think I’m worthless; I don’t think I’m unfit, I just…don’t know how to proceed.”

 

“Maybe don’t refer to her as The Black Lion? It’s kind of formal. Unless it’s - unless you think it’s - _wrong_.”

 

Shiro snorts, knowing where Keith’s going with this line of thinking. “It’s not a race thing. Valid, but not this time. Not that kind of wrong.” Trust Keith to find a way to make him loosen up a little. How many times have they masked a troubling situation with humor or tangents? Shiro could play along. “Although you have to admit, Red, Blue, Green…all much easier to use as a name. Even Yellow’s a little better. Uh, maybe? Maybe not, though. I think Hunk uses ‘Yellow Lion’ too, you know? Hey, Lance says Blue Lion, Pidge just calls hers ‘girl,’ so really it’s just you. You and your awesome lion knight who you refer to by her first name.”

 

Keith pinches the bridge of his nose, laughing. “Stop rambling.” Shiro is only this ineloquent around him, but it never fails to makes Keith smile. “I don’t know why I felt Blue. I’m glad Red accepted me. But the Black Lion-”

 

“See, you do it too.”

 

“Shut up. The Black Lion - the Black Lion, she just let me in cause she knew I could help you.”

 

Shiro is solemn again. The Black Lion may indeed have acted because Keith asked, but the lions are sentient. Surely if she’d wanted to save Shiro she wouldn’t have waited? “She didn’t move for me. Didn’t respond. I couldn’t feel her at all.”

 

“Well, they were both pretty beat up after the wormhole. Red didn’t take action until then, either. Thankfully they can self-repair to an extent, cause then we both would’ve been stranded.”

 

They’re silent then. Shiro staring at his hands, revolving the helmet around to avoid looking at his reflection. Keith reaches out to stop the nervous spinning; his touch is warm and welcome.

 

“I’m not taking her from you. You want me to try to lead - fine.” It sounds painful for him to admit. “I can - I can try harder. But I’m not taking your place. You aren’t going anywhere, Shiro. Zarkon isn’t going to take her. It’s not happening. He’ll never get his hands on a lion again. The Black Lion is yours. Willingly. I was just the one who was of able body and mind right then to ask for her help.”

 

Keith rests his head on his knees, his expression sweet. Proud. “Since when has Takashi Shirogane failed at anything?” Shiro wets his lips, afraid to look directly into Keith’s eyes unless he starts blushing. “Make a bond so strong that no one can touch it.”

 

Shiro can’t look away for long. They stare at each other, unbound, unhindered. Nothing left unspoken. Keith’s conviction is intense. It’s familiar. It’s soothing. It’s inspiring. Keith has always believed in him. He’s so easy to love. 

 

“Then that’s what we’ll do. Both of us.” 

 

Shiro leans in for single kiss, slow and gentle. He lets his thumbs caress Keith’s jaw for a moment before they rise, brushing off their suits. Back to work. Back to Voltron and near-constant danger.  

 

Keith stashes his bayard. “I think it’s more of a formal thing. The Black Lion. ‘The’ and all caps. Very formal. She is the head after all. In charge.” He shakes his fist in a way that would make Iverson roll his eyes. “You don’t go around disrespecting the leader of a giant cat robot. Wouldn’t be very nice.”

 

Shiro shoves Keith away, his laughter jumping in pitch as he catches himself against the doorframe. 

 

He’s right though. This will be his focus. He can forge an impenetrable bond. He can sever Zarkon’s. Patience yields focus. He doesn’t doubt himself, but he takes just as much comfort now in the fact that Keith can commune with a lion that isn’t his own. 

 

Keith will make a great leader. He knows better than anyone what Keith is capable of. Well, maybe except for Black.

 

_Nope, still can’t do it._  

 

The mother lion deserves her trademark reverence. 

 


End file.
